French renditon of Cyrano a true treat

Following on from the success of their two previous screenings of Mao's Last Dancer and Madame Butterfly, the Tauranga Nanchang Friendship Trust in conjunction with the New Zealand China Friendship Society (Tauranga branch) are presenting another fabulous opportunity to view the outstanding French production of Cyrano de Bergerac, the opera of the famous play.
The story of Edmond Rostand's epic romantic drama (1897) should be known to most audiences from the various film versions that have been made - some of them even predating Alfano's 1937 opera - the most notable being Gerard Depardieu's performance as the long-nosed character in Jean-Paul Rappeneau's popular French film from 1990, but it may also be known to more through Steve Martin's modern updating of the role in Roxane.
The story, however, is essentially the same, that of a man with an exceedingly large nose that disfigures his face, who believes that he is ugly and unworthy of the love of his beautiful cousin, Roxane.
This is, by operatic standards of fidelity, a very faithful musical treatment of Rostand's classic drama about the swashbuckling poet and swordsman with the big nose.
The music is competent, but not spectacular; that quality is found in the libretto.
The title role is expertly filled by Roberto Alagna, who not only has the best tenor voice in France, but also turns out to be an accomplished actor in a demanding role.
He is well-supported by a cast that clearly loves the story, its various characters and its often brilliant dialogue.
Alfano is best-known for his completion of Turandot, which was not quite finished at Puccini's death. Among his other work, he produced one operatic masterpiece of his own, Cyrano, which was long neglected but now has a fitting representation on home video.
The opera also exists in an Italian translation, but Alfano originally used the superior French text by Henri Cain, which is used in this production.
Nathalie Manfrino is charming as the beautiful, but superficial, Roxane, whom Cyrano loves hopelessly throughout his life and Richard Troxell characterises precisely the handsome but not particularly bright Christian, whom Cyrano assists in his wooing. The chorus, orchestra, sets and costumes are all excellent, helping to make this a first-class production.
The details

VENUE: Rialto Cinema, Tauranga
DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 2011
TIME: 5.45pm
TICKETS: $15 (includes spot prizes draw).
Tickets can be purchased from: Bureta Pharmacy, 76 Bureta Road, Tauranga; House of Travel, Corner Willow & Spring Streets, Tauranga; Kwangchow Restaurant, 241 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui; Creative Tauranga, 112 Willow St, Tauranga